Speaking of Smith Archives

Adam Smith Also Teaches Good Teaching

October 30, 2022

"Literature provides a connection throughout a culture, a touchstone for us to understand more abstract things. Adam Smith used literature references throughout The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations to highlight examples of concepts he is trying to explain."

What Adam Smith Ate: Apple Charlotte

October 19, 2022

Adam Smith was known to King George III and was in London managing corrections to TMS around the time of the King's marriage and coronation in the autumn of 1761. It’s very possible Smith enjoyed a celebratory meal or two - perhaps with Benjamin Franklin?

Adam Smith and the Tyranny of the Self

"Liberals, as believers in individual rights, should oppose all institutions and constructs that inhibit the flourishing of the individuals. What, then, of the tyranny of the self?"

The British East India Company: A Case About Sovereignty

October 12, 2022

Is the British East India Company an example of why monopolies are bad or is it really about irresponsible sovereigns? Jon Murphy puts the debates in context.

Dear Adam Smith: Entrepreneur Inquiring

October 4, 2022

Hire a partner or a part-time employee? Adam Smith is here to help a craft soap maker clean up her thinking on a murky choice.

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment Part 6: Doing Cosmopolitan History

September 29, 2022

Enlightenment ideas and methods come for the historians. Chronological and eye-witness accounts are out and empirical data, statistics, source criticism, and footnotes are in. Learn more about these and other changes in Part 6 of Willis' #ReadWithMe on Ritchie Robertson's The Enlightenment.

Adam Smith Escape Room

September 27, 2022

High School teachers who teach Adam Smith are already going beyond the requirements. Add the Adam Smith Escape Room to your list of activities to take your students beyond the ordinary as well.

Hanley's Great Purpose: Correct Misconceptions about Smith

September 22, 2022

Looking for a good book to read or gift on Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments? This might be the one for you.

Invisible Hearts: More Economics Than Romance

September 21, 2022

More readable than many textbooks, more accessible than classical texts! But NOT a guide to modern courtship or persuasion.

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment Part 5: Practical Enlighteners

September 15, 2022

How are (and were!) the forces of commerce to be used to the best advantage of all people? In part, with improvements in agriculture, medicine, and more. Amy Willis continues her adventures reading Ritchie Robertson's The Enlightenment.

A Skeptic's Guide to the Perfect Commonwealth

September 8, 2022

Hume’s plan for the perfect commonwealth is elaborate and probably impossible to implement but he gives us much to think about how divided powers might work to serve the good of the people.

Erik Matson on the Smith Questionnaire

September 7, 2022

Erik Matson joins us on the Smith Questionnaire. He chats about fixing the misconception of Smith as an amoral advocate of markets, why dogs are superior to cats, and a recent paper on Smith.